Leslie Smalygo entered the 2024 Cowboy Christmas in the number one position for the WPRA Barrel Racing World Standings. Emily Beisel briefly captured this coveted position over the 4th of July run. Smalygo’s win at the Calgary Stampede moved her back to her original position, and she shows no indication of relinquishing this position until she has a gold buckle in-hand come December.

Leslie Smalygo and Justaheartbeattofame “Gus” (Justaheartofawarrior x Yawl A Fame Maker x Dash Ta Fame) qualified for their first National Finals Rodeo in 2022. They missed making the finals in 2023 and came into the 2024 season with vengeance.

Smalygo and Gus started the year with their first $50,000-plus payout at RodeoHouston.

Leslie advanced out of Pool C to qualify for Championship Sunday at the Calgary Stampede. She placed second in the first round, won the second round, and placed second again in the final round. Prior to the semifinals, Leslie had already accumulated $18,000.

Leslie and Gus ran their first sub-17-second run in the semifinals with a time of 16.99 seconds. They finished second in the semifinals to the dynamic duo of Hailey Kinsel and Sister. Smalygo ousted Kinsel in the final round of Showdown Sunday by less than one-tenth of a second (.046 seconds). This earned Smalygo her second $50,000-win for the 2024 season and ultimately moved her back into the season leader position.

The Oklahoma cowgirl did not let off the gas pedal after her Calgary win on July 14. She and Gus finished third in the first go-round at Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 16. Their time of 17.00 seconds earned them another $3,640.

Smalygo pointed her truck east and then drove to Cheyenne, Wyo., the next day where she proceeded to win the long go by nearly two-tenths of a second with a 17.09-second. Their long go win paid $7,784.96.

The dynamic duo will compete again at Salt Lake City on Tuesday, July 23. They take two competitors from each performance of the progressive round to the Gold Medal Round on Wednesday, July 24. The top four competitors from each performance of Cheyenne’s Quarter Finals will advance to the Semi Finals. Leslie will hopefully make the drive from Utah to Wyo., once more.

She competes in Cheyenne’s Quarter Finals on Thursday, July 25. Twelve girls advance out of the Semi Finals to the Finals on Sunday, July 28.

The standings will be updated early next week and with the hot streak Smalygo is on, she should hold a commanding lead.

Oklahoma City looked to overcome its Summer League struggles but ran into more trouble.

The Thunder lost to the Golden State Warriors 90-83 on Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center. Although the Thunder were winless in Vegas going into the game, they had an opportunity to play spoiler. The Warriors were 3-0 and needed a win to clinch a spot in the semifinals.

Oklahoma City never stopped battling throughout the fourth quarter and was within one possession for much of the final frame. After Keyontae Johnson cut the Warriors’ lead to one, Golden State responded and used a Jackson Rowe 3-pointer to extend the lead to five in the final minute, which would end up being too much for the Thunder to overcome.

Ousmane Dieng’s Summer League was over before Vegas started, but a few other key players were also shut down early. Friday night’s game marked the second contest without Adam Flagler, Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell.

After the Thunder looked good offensively in their first game without them, Friday was a much different story. The Thunder shot 27-of-71 from the floor and 14-of-41 from 3-point range.

Hunter Maldonado starred for the Thunder early, scoring 14 points in the first half on his way to 25. He also showed some of his abilities defensively and finished with three steals.

His quick start helped the Thunder enter halftime trailing by only three points. Oklahoma City closed the half on an 8-0 run, which included five points from Maldonado.

Pat Spencer led the way for Golden State in the first half, scoring 10. He finished the game with 17.  Although neither team could get much going in the third quarter, Golden State tried to rebuild its double-digit lead.

Oklahoma City will finish its Summer League schedule on Saturday with a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.

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On Thursday evening, 4-star Richland (TX) running back Michael Turner Jr. announced his commitment to Baylor.

Turner chose the Bears over Oklahoma State, Washington, SMU, TCU and Utah after narrowing his list to six schools earlier this month. Rated the No. 82 overall prospect and No. 5 running back in the 2025 recruiting class, according to On3, Turner also held offers from Oklahoma, Oregon, Missouri and others.

Listed at 6-feet tall and 190 pounds, Turner would have been a huge addition for Mike Gundy and the Cowboys in the 2025 cycle. OSU already boasts pledges from 4-star Columbus (TX) quarterback Adam Schobel, 3-star Pflugerville Weiss (TX) running back DJ Dugar, five talented wide receivers and two 3-star tight ends in the 2025 class.

WIth one running back already on board for Kasey Dunn and company, losing out on Turner isn’t a huge setback for the Pokes, but adding one of the top running backs in the nation would have given Oklahoma State’s class another blue-chip prospect.

Currently, the Cowboys’ 2025 cycle boasts two blue-chip prospects, Schobel and 4-star Port Arthur Memorial (TX) edge rusher Michael Riles. Blue-chip prospects are high school players who are rated as 4-star and 5-star recruits.

Additionally, Turner picking a conference opponent makes the decision an even bigger loss for the Pokes, as they will now have to compete against the talented running back during his college career. As a junior, the 4-star tailback ran for 1,625 yards and 22 touchdowns, leading the Royals to an undefeated regular season campaign in 2023.

Despite losing out on Turner, Oklahoma State still has 17 pledges in the 2025 recruiting class and seems to be on a good pace to round out a solid class with less than five months left until the early signing period.

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